A Knight In Giza
by Basched
Summary: Ashe and Basch are lost in the midst of Giza during the rainy season. WARNING: This contains graphic sexual scenes, do not read if you find it uncomfortable.If it doesn't...by all means, please do read!
1. Chapter 1

_Author's Note: This story is a first for me. I'm VERY nervous about it, but heck this has to be done._

_Quite a while ago I said I would write something for Landis Ice-lily. She came up with an idea to have a Basch/Ashe fic that would include a lot of…well….mud. The result is this…a rather long and rather graphically detailed fic. (Well I think it is…whether its any good is another matter.) This does contain very sexually explicit stuff and if you don't feel comfortable then please don't read. ;) Landis, I hope this is okay for you. I cannot write lemon….unless it's funny. This is not supposed to be and so I had to incorporate the feelings into it. _

_Any how! Please treat this fic as a learning curve for me. Read it and let me know if it's good or if my descriptions are too bitty, dull or down right corny. I'm always willing to accept advice which will help me improve for the next time. _

_Thanks, hope you enjoy this. _

_**A Knight In Giza**_

The rain was coming down in torrents. The ground beneath their feet was slick with gushing mud and the humidity was strong in the air despite the upending skies.

They were lost, cut off from the rest of the party and none of them knew where they were.

The fiends were being a annoyance as the Princess and the "Knight" traversed the changing terrain. The rivers were over flowing and the heat and rains were soaking them both to their skins.

Yet as they swamped through the mud, she could not tear her eyes away from him. Distrust at this so called "innocent man" bore into him with a razor sharp glare.

It was his fault they were lost and separated from the others, it was his fault she was stuck with only him as company. If he had allowed Ashe to defend herself instead of trying to tackle the Entite as well, then they wouldn't be traipsing through Giza with no idea in which direction to head.

However, as each fiend attacked, Basch Fon Ronsenberg did something even worse.

He kept on protecting her.

Always he shielded her. His large body was more of a protective than any accessory or spell. His sword slew every beast before it could get to her and his cries of warning to keep her back infuriated her. If she was annoyed by his ridiculous chivalry before, his constant attempts to "redeem" himself was making her even angrier.

The hours had passed by and there was no ease from the rains or the draining humidity. Ashe was getting tired and her clothes were more than uncomfortable. Mud was everywhere on her, lumps were stuck in her dripping hair, mud oozed down her legs along with the rain water, making her long for a nice warm bath and some hot food.

Yet her annoyance grew as she rested herself against a fallen tree trunk. No sooner had she placed her self on the slippery bark of the trunk, Basch had moved so close that he was standing in front of her like a solid enclosing brick wall.

"Do you _have_ to stand so close to me?!" she snapped, shifting her bottom further up the trunk away from him. He edged away a little bit to honour her wishes, but it wasn't that much. Basch still crowded her. His lack of words tested her patience as well. Sometimes Ashe wished he would say something, anything. She wanted him to argue back, but Basch never did. He used as little words as possible, whilst his mud caked facial expressions did all the talking.

She knew what he was trying to do. Redemption would not be easy for him. Ashe wasn't sure if she was going to let it be either.

If such a thing were possible, the clammy stickiness in the air became worse through the pouring rains. Ashe could no longer bare the combination, so she rose from her position. Basch moved, backing away but then stepping forward once more to keep a close proximity. She hated it when he did that.

Yet just a few years ago, it had never bothered her. Nothing about him could ever bother her or give her cause to be angry.

As they moved onwards, Ashe recalled a time when she didn't hate him, when she had feelings that were far beyond what a young royal princess should feel towards a Knight in the Order and a man nearly two decades her senior. She remembered those feelings had also been more than just those of an infatuated teen…sometimes, being in his presence, she could barely breathe.

He had been just as he was now, silent but always her guard and forever worried about her safety. He was dutiful beyond duty.

Ashe had savoured his assuring glances to her and the way he advised her and tutored her. She cherished his loyalty and devotion. But it was always when he smiled, those small rare but powerful smiles, that made Ashe …love him?

Ashe had never been sure. Confusion was always a certainty around him.

But those feelings had been wrenched and gutted on the night she heard news of her father's murder.

They had branded him a traitor, a murderer and sentenced him to death. She had hated him as much as a person could hate someone, because of her fondness of him. She had felt so betrayed.

During those two years, there was not a single moment that went by in which Ashe didn't think of Basch and what he had done. She had never allowed Vossler to see how weak and scared she really was. She never allowed Vossler to hear her cry herself to sleep as she wept for a man she thought she trusted. She thought she had loved.

Yet he was alive and claiming innocence. How could she believe him? His betrayal hurt more than a sword through the heart. It hurt more than any magics or pain in this world.

"Look out Highness!"

It happened so suddenly.

From out of nowhere a pack of hyenas leapt from the dense rain. Fingers gripped her shoulder and pulled her back as howls screamed above the cracking thunder. Her feet slipped, unbalanced by Basch's sudden wrench and she landed in the mud as a blur of fiends closed in around them.

There was a deeper, more feral growl than those of the furred beasts. It was a cry which startled her.

The metal of a blade sliced through flesh. Drops of blood red turned to pools on the ground and as Ashe gazed up through the pelting raindrops, she saw him surrounded by eight hyenas. They were berserked for Basch's blood, ripping and tearing at him with savage rage. But he kept them at bay, he kept them away from her.

Ashe almost felt her heart stop.

Basch Fon Ronsenberg had changed. His whole manner of fighting was not just a show for her. She watched his every movement and realised that his determination was no pretence. The whole atmosphere was charged with a fury that had nothing to do with the beasts, it was the hate of his incarceration, it was the pain from the beatings and torture…it was the anger of an innocent man.

The fiends were scared of _him_. Despite being vastly out numbered, Basch owned this battlefield and they could not keep him down.

The fiends weren't the only ones who were scared. The Princess grabbed for her sword, but she felt the paralysing fear of confusion clouding her judgement yet again. Watching Basch, an endless confliction of mistrust and hate was struggling against old resurfacing feelings towards him. She didn't need this!

Her heart was pumping, Ashe was frozen on the ground, she was paralysed as Basch was continuously attacked. His frail brittle leather armour was torn from his chest by a hyena's sharp digging claws. The clasps that held it were ripped right off, the leather was shredded and his blood soaked through the tattered white shirt that lay underneath. He never cried out from the pain.

There was sheer determination set into his broad jaw and the power was absolute in the swing of his arms. He was a strong fighter, Basch always had been for as long as Ashe had known him. None of the other knights had been able to defeat him. But even with this many hyenas, and more on the way, he couldn't cope on his own. Ashe had to help.

She unsheathed her own sword and as quickly as possible, she got to her feet. The princess then began to arch her blade in the figure of eight motions, before attacking some of the hyenas.

"Princess! No!" Basch yelled above the storm. "There are too many of them!"

"Too many for just you!" she snapped, as her blade cleanly sliced the hairy belly of a hyena. The howls all around them increased and so now, instead of attacking just Basch, they also lashed out to her. They were enraged and now began to curl circles around the two humes.

"That was foolish" Basch said as they moved round back to back. His breath was panting hard and his heavy frame was slouching under the strain of his injuries. "They would not have seen you as a threat and would have left you alone."

"Oh please, _Captain_." Ashe sneered, flicking the blade at a hyena which got too close to her. The sharpened and bloody tip caught the beast's face and it scampered back. "I am more than capable in a fight!"

"As I had taught you to be." Basch moved quite suddenly, putting himself in front of Ashe and cleanly decapitating two hyenas with one swift strike. "But I would still prefer to keep you from….."

"I don't need you to coddle me, Basch!" Ashe snapped angrily. "I don't want you to!"

Her raised angry voice caused the pack to become hysterical. All of them lunged at the same time.

Ashe didn't recall how it happened, but it felt so good.

It was just like the time in the Westersand. A thirteen year old princess had taken off to the sands much to the worry of her tutor. Yet despite all his precautions as he tried to bring her back to the palace, they had been attacked. In that moment, Ashe had shown him just what she had learnt from his lessons. It was all a reflex and they had fought together in a startling unison. They didn't need to speak or shout or anything, they just knew.

They fought as one even now, covering for each other and defending each other as one by one, the hyenas fell in hacked up pieces on the ground. Ashe noticed Basch still striving to protect her more than was necessary but it didn't feel as suffocating. So when the last horned beast fell, she felt his close presence once again, but not the urgent need to push him away.

Ashe saw for the first time since her rescue that he was not well. His once well toned bulked body was thinner, his skin was cut to shreds and bleeding, scars matted him like engravings and he looked awfully pale. Never had she seen him like this before. Never had Basch appeared so weak.

"Basch."

The anger was being swayed just by hearing his heaving breaths. Her distaste and irritation at him was replaced when she saw him lean on his sword for support. Ashe felt a sudden pang of regret and guilt. Had this man really shown anything but utter loyalty to her? Did he really deserve more punishment from her?

He needed her help, not her distrust and hate.

Ashe reached inside her pack and was about to pull out a bottle of healing potion, when just beside her, the wet sodden earth broke and erupted into the air, splattering mud into their faces.

Ashe swerved back just as a Wild Snake spewed from the muddy ground, but Basch was already aware. Ashe felt Basch's hand grab hold of her arm and then she was pulled closely to him as he dealt with the fiend. His hand slipped around her waist and kept a firm grip, whilst his other fought with a weapon most people could barely lift with two.

The snake was cleaved easily in half with just a couple of swipes of Basch's sword, a mere pitiful foe that should have stayed hidden.

Basch turned to face her. His arm was still around her waist, his fingers pinching lightly at her skin as he tried to keep both of them steady. So as she pressed against him, she could feel the rising and falling, the panting of Basch's chest, in time with her own. Deep and hard.

He said something, the words were drowned as Ashe stood lost by the sound of his voice rather than the content. His deep tones weren't as grating any more, she didn't clench her teeth or cringe. She felt so lost. Then his arm slipped away.

With only with a slight skim from one of his fingers, it catching a part of her bare flesh, Ashe felt a quiver shake through her. A spasm of pleasure, such an involuntary reaction, caused her legs to wobble.

Ashe lost her balance and fell. Her hands reached out grabbed hold of the tattered white shreds of his shirt. As it ripped cleanly off him, her fall took Basch down with her. Both of them landed with a sloshing thump into the mud, Basch nearly crushing her as she fell on her front.

Ashe could barely see, she tried to wipe the mud away and get back to her feet, but it was a futile attempt. The man that lay on top of her, was preventing her from doing so. She felt him desperately moving off her, but Ashe only turned and once again grabbed onto him for support.

It was an awkward entanglement of limbs as they scrambled and slipped to get to their feet. He didn't know where to touch her, afraid that such contact would anger her more, but Ashe never objected as once again his hands slipped around her waist to bring her up.

Once she was, out of reflex, she slapped him away, pushing herself out of his grasp.

"Yes!" she snapped, with a mixture of anger, embarrassment and arousal in her voice. "Thank you! I'm okay now! Shall we get moving again?"

Basch only opened his mouth and she knew he was going to apologise. That was something else she certainly wouldn't tolerate. Her hand flew up and a single finger jabbed towards his face in a very threatening manner.

"If you apologise! I will cut you down! Is that understood?!

The silent reply was but a graceful decline of his head and his eyes closed to show his sincerity.

Ashe stormed off through the mire and dense rain, pausing only to make sure that he was following her. As if there was any doubt. She didn't need to turn round, but the sound of his heavy sinking footfalls into the sludge told her he was.

The hours must have passed and still there was no let in the storm or heat. They were still lost. All familiar landmarks of Giza were destroyed and ruined by the storms, elements and powerful fiends in the area. Beasts and creatures which they had thankfully avoided.

Eventually, Ashe approached a bridge with a vague sense of recollection and she hoped that it meant something more to Basch. Ashe looked to face him, but she was only disappointed to see confusion upon his face as well.

"Does this not look familiar?" she asked.

"It does not, Princess. Nor does it look safe…the eddies beneath it are far too strong and…"

"But surely there must be shelter on the other side. There has to be in this damned place!" Ashe snapped, wiping her dirty and sweating brow with her arm. But her arm too, was wet and muddy and so it didn't do much help. "We have to rest somewhere for a moment…your wounds need tending to. Right now, you look as if you would be felled by a nip from a cockatrice chick!"

"That is an exaggeration, majesty. A Cockatrice chick can barely break the skin… "

"Basch!!"

"I do not require assistance, I can bare with my wounds."

"Don't argue with me!" Ashe felt like throttling him for his modesty. She angrily grabbed hold of his hand, not noticing the very shocked look upon the Knight's face and pulled him behind her and on to the bridge.

However, Basch was right. The bridge's wood had been rotting over the years, cracked out by the harsh heat of Giza's dry season. No one had used it. Though the bridge did not crumble under the light weight of Princess Ashelia, it was as soon as Basch's heavy frame stood upon the wood, that it gave. There was a loud creak and a sudden snap and crack.

The bridge collapsed completely, Ashe cried out as both she and Basch fell deep into the roaring dirty waters. Ashe clung to him as hard as she could, but when they hit, she felt something snag against her skin, it tore at her side and she went under.

She didn't know how long she was carried down stream, but she knew that her hand never let go of him. She felt him trying to lift her up, his other hand grasping and flailing to get a hold, but then Ashe felt another rip. Basch's fingers had torn her white coat in his desperation to get her above surface.

There was a sudden hard impact and their momentum came to a halt.

During the turbulent current of the stream, Basch had turned and was now beneath her, using his body to keep her up. But the broken pieces of drift wood from the bridge had caught in a narrow part of the river and blocked their path. Basch's back cracked hard into the wet splintering pieces and a long sharp branch dug in deep. Ashe didn't hear his cry of pain, even though the agony was so sudden and cut into his ribs. She didn't notice the blood in the water until she was finally pulled up to the surface coughing and spluttering for air.

Every gasping breath stung with pain. She spat out the water that had nearly drowned her and she gazed down at the bleeding wound on her abdomen. There was so much blood, it seeped over her hands and pooled over and beneath her legs. It wasn't all hers.

"Basch…?" She turned round and saw how he really was.

He was panting hard from exhaustion and his face was a picture of pure agony. All his armour had gone. His sword was still some how attached by the belt, but even that was on the verge of snapping. His skin looked awfully pale.

Fear nearly vomited up in Ashe's throat. It was an involuntary fear for Basch that caused her to squirm in desperation. Her own wound ripped open some more.

Her piercing cry provoked Basch to scramble up out of the water. His arm wrapped around Ashe's shoulders and using the broken debris as leverage he lifted the both of them out. It was a long and arduous process, but he finally managed to drag her up the embankment and rest her against him on the other side of the river.

"Are you all right?"

His voice rasped with agony, but Basch refused to stay lying down. He slid out from underneath Ashe and cradled her in the crook of his arm. The wound he had, along with all the others from battle, was getting more and more unbearable, Ashe could tell with every hissing intake of breath.

The young royal's eyes fixated on the only fortune they had left in this forsaken swamp. As Basch cradled her, she noticed that his other grasped firmly and desperately at the broken strap of her pack. The brown leather rucksack was just like every other item she owned, ripped or damaged, with the exception of her weapon. That was gone, washed away by the river and lost. Only Basch had retained his. Somehow. She depended on him to defend her. He was the only one who could keep back the fiends.

Childish memories, clouded in adoration, flashed back in her mind. Ashe tried to shake such feelings away, but her mind was beginning to haze too much with the past as it interfered with her present.

She was determined not to trust him, she didn't want to have any hope of his innocence to ease her past two years of hating him, but how could she be so rational in her detest of him, when her heart was soaring at being in his arms?

He had killed her father? He had killed the other members of his squad and betrayed all of Dalmasca? Betrayal, when Ashe heard it she had cursed the Captain's name, she had spat and screamed her fury at him, but through all the anger, Ashe had hoped none of it was true. Ashe didn't want to believe it. A foolish young teenage love would not believe that a great warrior, a Knight of the Order would do such a thing.

Hate and love. It was an ongoing battle that neither side could win.

There had been nights she had dreamed of his death and wished for his suffering, but now as she felt his blood soaking her, Ashelia could only hope that there was still something left in her pack that would save them both. She didn't want him to die. Not now.

Ashe reached out for the rucksack but to grab it fully from his grasp, she had to pull herself onto her knees. As she did so, she felt the plated shin armour that covered her legs cutting into her skin. She saw that on both legs they were damaged and now completely useless. She ripped them and her boots off with seething and painful tugs and discarded them so she could move more freely to the pack. Basch's shaking hold tried to pull her back to him.

"Don't move!" Basch moaned "You're…"

"The potion….There might still be enough for both of us."

Ashe snatched the pack from Basch's hold and fumbled inside to find only one remaining container of healing potion. With difficulty she crawled away from him and pulled the potion out. She pried at the stopper and dribbled some of the green luminescent fluid over her wound. It stung, it burned…but she felt the miracle liquid healing her. The dizziness began to fade, she felt revived and invigorated. Ashe looked down and pulled back the black armour bodice around her midriff. Her flesh was no longer seared or ripped. The blood stopped flowing.

"Basch…you need this."

When she looked up, she saw that the knight was trying to get to his feet. He had crawled on his hands and knees to a large black crystalline stone which was jutting out of the ground and he was beginning to pull himself up. She saw his whole body shaking and with his condition, with his weakened state from battle and from being in prison, his legs buckled. His feet slipped out from underneath him, but even though he fell, still he tried to get himself up.

"Basch! Don't be a damned fool! Let me heal you!"

"We must leave!" he groaned, his fingers trying to get a hold on the stone's slick craggy surface. "We are vulnerable…I cannot let you be harmed before Dalmasca is restored!"

"Don't try to stand! Don't do anything, you'll only make it worse!"

He didn't listen to her as he eventually managed to stay standing, leaning for support against the black sunstone. Even with such injury the man tried to be strong, though she knew from such blood loss he could die.

Ashe found her strength returned thanks to the potion and she rose up from the mud and rushed as quickly as she could to Basch's side. Her steps were hindered by the slush, sinking her down, but eventually she saw the full extent of his wound.

It was deep and wide on the right side of his back, such a hideous gash that Ashe couldn't believe he was able to move, let alone stand. Yet she wasted no time at all at pouring some of the potion onto the wound.

Basch's scream was piercing and raw. He fell forward, the sunstone preventing him from falling completely back into the mire. He growled through the agony and his whole body tensed and then the cry changed from searing pain to one of huge immense relief. The sensation showed on his face as his eyes clenched shut and his mouth hung open in a bellowing roar of pleasure. Basch lifted his head up and gasped as the rain pelted down on him, as the bliss of the potion drained in deep.

Ashe saw the wound healing. Skin grew, muscle formed and the blood finally stopped gushing. The relieved expression on Basch's face was replaced by a smile. A strong rare smile.

All of her life, Ashe could remember every time Basch had smiled. At her. One of her first memories in her life, was of a young man standing over her…his blonde hair still rough and untamed then as it was now, and a smile, warm and soothing upon his lips. Ashe had grown into a woman and those smiles, no matter how rare, became and meant so much more.

She remembered how such a reaction from him would always make her feel. She was feeling it now.

"Basch…."

He turned round, the smile still slight on his lips. When their eyes connected, it vanished. There was sadness staring back at her and a real fear. This fear increased as Ashe stepped closer to him. Her slow tentative steps only made him try to back away further.

"Your other wounds need tending to, Captain." said Ashe. "I will not have the only person with a weapon to be weak and unable to fight."

"Thank you for your kindness, princess…." his voice was wavering and he tried to keep her away by holding up his hands in a gentle protest. "Though I do not deserve such kindness or your…."

"No! You do not!" Ashe snapped, instantly wishing that she didn't, yet she did not soften her tone too much. "But I cannot allow you to continue in this way."

Again, Basch bowed his head in complete understanding of her words, though Ashe doubted that he really did. He simply turned over his hand so she could give him the bottle.

But instead of doing so, or indeed, instead of turning the entire contents over him, she tipped some of the lime green liquid over her hand. Ashe had no idea she was doing this, it just happened; she pressed her potion covered hand to his skin. The sizzling of his healing wounds bubbled as her fingers caressed over his heaving chest and along his muscled arms with a trembling motion.

His eyes fluttered closed, his head bowed and his breathing slowed as once again the rejuvenating properties of the potion soothed his injuries. Her fingertips and palms rubbed, massaged over every aching part of his torso and he allowed it. He never objected, only sighed as Ashe's potion drenched hands revived his inner strength. He felt his energy and vigour, that he had lost in Nalbina, slowly returning.

She was boiling in this heat, but as she was still massaging the potion into his skin, the feeling of him inciting another shock of confusion within her.

The hate didn't seem to exist through this contact. Where was the hate? Where was the contempt she held for him for not protecting her father, for not being at her side when Archadia had taken over Dalmasca?

Basch's eyes opened, sincerity and sadness gazed back at her. He had tried. He had tried so hard all his life to be everything for her, but his failings was his shame. His honour and loyalty should never have been in question, nor his motives. He was not to blame. So the princess allowed a couple of her fingers to trace lightly round his neck, the green healing potion clearing away the fang marks and burns.

They stroked down his back, curing the hyena's claw scratches and snake bites. She rubbed some of the potion into his shoulders, as if it was like a sweet smelling oil, her soft clenching motions refusing to stop rubbing as her eyes watched all the wounds disappear. She didn't notice Basch was now shivering. But when she circled back round to face him and as she reached for the scar that ran across his brow, he prevented her by holding her hand away.

"Princess, I am fine now." Basch voice pleaded. "The rest of my injuries are no longer in need of such attention."

She didn't hear him.

Ashe tore her hand from his and edged closer to him, continuing to administer her strokes, ever softer and lower. She swelled.

She wasn't the only one who had.

She felt it straight away. Her fingers brushed against the swelling hardness and she felt it twitch with her contact. It was impossible not feel his erection beneath her touch, it was impossible to quell the sudden reaction she received from it.

Ashe gasped. Basch backed away from her, terrified beyond belief. He slipped and skidded through the mud, but he managed to brace himself on the stone behind him. The shock and embarrassment could not have been worse, his face flushed bright red and all he could do was look away and try to hide his heated stiffness. Ashe thought that such a hard reaction was due to her enticing and healing massage, but she saw his eyes fleeting only briefly at her transparent and clinging top before clenching shut with shame. Ashe looked down and saw that her chest was showing some equally aroused signals. The sodden top clung to her breasts and revealed the pert roundness and hardened nipples through the material.

Ashe felt her own fleeting flutter of embarrassment, but where Basch could no longer look at her, she could not tear her eyes away from him. Furious out of control and intense emotions were dredged up from her past to now. A mix of lust and desire was raged on by seeing him so soddened and drenched, so aroused and turned on.

All her life, Basch had been a constant source of confusion and now at the worst possible moment, she could no longer stand such turmoil eating her up. The princess tried to organise some kind of order to her memories and feelings, but there was only chaos. She couldn't contain it.

"Basch!" She screamed as loud as she could over the downpour.

There was no response from him, so she approached once again, this time she tore his hands away from his groin and forced him to look up. He looked so embarrassed.

"Damn you Basch! I don't want to go on like this any more! "

Again his silence only infuriated her, that and his squirming attempts to move away.

"I thought you a murderer!" Ashe gestured wildly with her hands, but through the fear of lashing out at him, she wrapped her arms around her chest. "I thought you were dead! Yet here you are! Fighting at my side, helping me to restore Dalmasca as if nothing happened to you! Or me!"

The princess found each word difficult to speak, as a harsh digging ache pierced at her chest. But she could not stop. She could not remain silent like he.

"Did you have _any _idea what you had meant to my life?! You were my guardian and protector! I trusted you! When I heard you named as my father's killer, I wished that you had suffered on your death, but seeing you now…" Ashe's hand shook as she went to reach out for Basch, but he just edged harder at the sunstone. "Seeing you, as you are, knowing what you endured in that…cell, I know that you did suffer. So tell me, Basch…tell me you didn't do it. Did you? Tell me that you didn't kill my father nor do any of those things Vossler spoke of! Tell me that my hope was not wrong about you!"

Basch kept his head bowed, still he would not look up at her. He shook his head in response.

"I did not kill your father, princess…nor the men under my command. This I vow."

Ashe took a sharp intake of breath. For the first time in two years she felt lifted, a huge weight had been eased from her shoulders, an anguish had been soothed.

"I had hoped…" Ashe clutched her hands to her soaking chest. "I hated you and grieved for you…I wanted you dead, I wanted you by my side, I was always in turmoil, always so lost! Basch, did you know how much you really meant to me? Did you not know…..that I….that I loved you?"

There was a long pause, only the sound of the roaring rains screamed in their ears.

"Aye. I knew."

The revelation felt as if he had thrusted his fist right into her belly and pulled out her stomach. The agonising pain she felt made her sag back into the squelching mud with a thump.

"You knew?!" Her cries sounded higher than the crackling of the storm. Basch slowly sank down next to her, again only his eyes pierced through the dirt that soddened his face.

"Yes, highness." Basch's voice was so humble that it trembled and cracked. "Though I said nothing. I felt it would be wrong to…."

Ashe felt her jaw clench hard and painfully at his words.

"Wrong Basch?" Ashe grasped at his hands, feeling the roughness of his skin beneath the slimy mud and rain. "A princess falls in love with her Knight? She harbours these feelings for a man who is far older than she? You thought it wrong? To be honest, I don't know what is right or wrong anymore! What am I supposed to do? Hate you? Love you? WHAT?! You confuse me Basch, everything is blurred and so crystal clear at the same time! Yet now, when I cannot afford to be so weak like this, I am when you're around! I didn't need to be lost in the midst of Giza when my country needs me! My people need me! Why am I allowing this moment of weakness when I have to be strong?! This…what's happening here…now….it's distracting me! It's sending me out of my mind! I can't be here and we…should go!"

"Then let us go…" Basch replied, his body still trembling at her soft hold on his hands. "The others are waiting for us, we must find the village and meet up with them before we continue on to Jahara."

Neither of them moved. Unwittingly, both of their heads bowed, their foreheads touched but neither of them were able to pull apart or shy away from this contact. Ashe eventually took her hand and tucked it gently under Basch's chin. She pushed his face up to meet with her gaze.

There was anguish in his eyes, a conflict of his duty and something else, he was struggling to contain himself, he too was trying to be strong.

"I don't know what else to do." she breathed, as her fingers gently caressed his cheek. Basch tried to turn his head away, but she pinched harder at him and kept him facing her. "This war, Vayne's insanity, my duty for Dalmasca, my people! Everything is like a crushing weight upon me. How can I be like this when all I can think of is you? Why, when the fate of Ivalice depends on me, do I _need_ to feel you holding me?"

"Princess…..I…"

"Am I being totally irrational? Could my hope be fooling me into thinking you would allow it? That you would even want to return my affections?"

To her surprise, she felt Basch squeeze her hand. Then he took in a deep agonizing breath before speaking.

"I say this now, Ashelia for I have loved you since the day you were born. You are a treasured gift to Dalmasca and as my princess, my Sovereign, I swore an oath to protect you with my life. I am honour bound to you. My duty is to Dalmasca and to you. But…but when you were wed to Prince Rasler, I did not expect, nor could I even understand what had become of me. When you walked through the doors of the church, I saw…" Basch shook his head and wiped the sludge off his face. Ashe saw the struggle and confliction upon Basch's wearied features. "You were so beautiful…I…"

"You?"

"I fell in love with you, Highness." Basch shook his head. She could feel him trembling. "I have gone against the Code of the Order, by having such feelings for you. I have betrayed Rasler's memory by harbouring such thoughts. So I said nothing, I did nothing. That at least made me feel that I had not dishonoured myself…but by the gods…I wanted to say…"

Ashe ran her hand up his check and pulled Basch's head towards her. Her own cheek rested on his shoulder and her fingers gently rested on his mud caked lips, silencing him before he could say any more. Her hopes were realised when his arms nervously wrapped around her soaking wet waist.

Ashe's lips pursed and tenderly she placed a single kiss against his skin. The kiss on his collar bone made a heavy sigh emit from his mouth but such a press of her lips did nothing to stop his body from shaking. She lightly caressed his frame with her hand to try and soothe his anxiety, but it wasn't working.

"Princess, we cannot do this, I am far too..."

"Basch…."

Her hands pressed on either side of his grimy bearded face, the mud slipped through her fingers as she ran them up and through his hair, where she tightened her hold and brought his face closer to hers.

Their lips met. A soft gentle brush to begin with, but then Ashe pressed a little harder, deep and passionate. Basch jerked at the euphoric rush her kiss gave him, but he was terrified as to how excited it made him. Yet as he felt the tingling touch of her tongue against his own, he groaned.

As Ashe's wet body pressed into him, her arms slipping around his neck, Basch felt her mouth kneading the kiss on, the warmth and taste of her driving him wild. His arms wrapped around her body, his fingers brushing with light strokes at her back and he responded to her kiss. He cared not for the mud and rain that crept into their mouths, for all he could taste was her. Sweet, warm, so sensual. So full of fire.

The kiss grew harder. Ashe pushed against him as if he was too far away from her, clinging onto him with anguish. Basch's head was spinning at her fiery thrusts, her youthful and strong endurance, but most of all, that it was her.

This was his princess who would be Queen. How could he be behaving like this? But still, he craved for her, he wanted her and needed her.

He pushed back hard, but Ashe reacted with more startling strength, her hands tugging with so much ferocity at his hair that Basch could barely sustain any form of balance. He tipped back from his knees and landed on his bottom, sinking down into the thick dark sludge under Ashe's weight. Her fierceness had caught him by surprise, but not as much as his own reciprocation to her initial kiss.

Basch lifted her up, his hands moving across her bottom and beneath her legs, fingers pinching tightly to keep a grip on her slippery skin. Ashe slid easily up his drenched torso, juddering as her bottom felt the skimming of his hard excitement, but the effort of such a move in thick earthy slush upset the balance.

Basch fell back once again and as his back impacted to the squelching ground, both of them were doused with such a covering slush of mud that it broke their kiss. Ashe lay atop of him, their faces mere inches from each other, their hot breaths heaving and panting against their skin; the rain cascading over their bodies. As their muddy and almost comical situation dawned on them, neither of them could suppress the huge grins that spread across their faces.

The crack of thunder in the air, brought them back out of their moment.

It startled Ashe so much that she jerked up right, gasping as she thrusted against his erection beneath her. Her teeth bit down sharply on her bottom lip and she tasted blood along with the earthy slime that covered her mouth.

Fingers traced gently up from her hips, _his_ fingers found the small clasps of her black armour and Basch snapped them off before discarding the soaked piece of clothing and leaving the young princess in nothing but just her undergarments. Where she had been protected by battle armour, now ran large strong hands, massaging at her skin with craving. His hands snaked round, palmed against her back and Basch used her weight to help him sit up,

Ashe coiled her arms around, her nails dragging through the thick layers of mud that caked his back as their mouths embraced together once again. She rocked against him viciously, desperately wanting him to be inside her, so with their limbs entangled, her hands and mouth kneaded and bit all over him with a predatorial devouring.

Never had she felt anything so wonderful.

Basch Fon Ronsenberg made her feel so alive. Yet in the burning craze in her mind and body, Ashe couldn't understand why this was so. Where was the hate again? How could she just so readily accept his words and give herself like this? Then there was Rasler. Had the vision she saw in Raithwall's Tomb tried to make her feel guilty about her feelings towards Basch? Rasler was dead, she missed him terribly but now, in this moment there was only Basch. She wanted every part of him. This Knight…this _man_, was unleashing feelings she never thought anyone could have. The insanity of it all was more than any one could keep inside.

Ashe cried out, yet she pulled away from Basch's embrace, only to shove him back down in the dirt with a forceful push. Straddling over his legs, she then proceeded to tear off the belt that held his sword, before digging the blade down into the ground behind his head. Her fingers then clawed furiously at the waistband of his shorts. Basch efforts to stop her were feeble and half hearted, pointless in fact when Ashe threw the soaking clump over by his sword.

Then Ashe leaned back and gazed at him in all of his nakedness.

He was perfect to her, even with the flaws marring his skin and the loss of weight. Since the events on the Leviathan, there had been nothing, yet now there was life in his intense blue eyes and his body was so handsome and invitingly glorious. Ashe couldn't help but gaze in joy at the sight of him. Though he was thinner now, though he had suffered the hell of prison and torture, he was still magnificent to her.

If Basch was uncomfortable with his nakedness, he didn't show it. He lay there in the mud, looking up at her with desiring eyes, waiting for the young woman to make the next move.

Ashe positioned herself over him and leaned down close so that the rain slid down her face and across their lips. Every slight movement she made with her hips, her bottom rubbing up against him, induced a gasp from Basch and his whole body tensed with such agonizing pleasure under her pressure. Upon hearing his moans, Ashe felt between her legs a throbbing pleasurable sensation, her body was sweating and pulsing with immense gushing want and she savoured his joyous reactions of her acts.

Basch kept a hold gently on her back with one hand whilst the other rid Ashe of the remainder of her clothes. It took only a couple of quick sharp and forceful rips and she was rendered naked atop of him. Ashe smiled at such a rough action from him and the fact that all of their clothes were now certainly un-wearable was furthest from their minds. All rational thought had long since gone. Now there was only the emotional instincts, the desperate need for this physical contact.

Ashe arched back and ran her hands slowly through the thick drenched strands of her hair. Upon seeing the enraptured and longing look on Basch's face at the sight of her nudity, she grinned most mischievously and proceeded to run her hands down. Ashe moved them down her neck in a slow motion over her breasts, across her stomach and her abdomen before resting them against his own wet heaving chest. Her fingers teased over his torso, up and across his chest, lingering over some of his scars. Briefly she was saddened by such marring of his body, but then she felt Basch's hand rub at her face to push away the rainwater and mud. The look in his eyes, the expression on his dirty face told her not to worry. She needn't be sad.

"Princess…"

"Ssssh…." Ashe shook her head and smiled. "Don't call me that. Not now, not like this."

Ashe shifted her weight slightly and moved her feet carefully in the mud. Her eyes never lost contact with his and there was a hesitation as they silently understood that this was going to happen. Basch could not recall being so afraid, or excited. Never had he felt so mixed up. This was his princess, this was Ashelia Dalmasca and she was offering herself to him. The guilt still panged…his sense of honour was scolding him. He wasn't worthy of her, for it should not be him here. Yet she was wanting him. He could see it in her eyes.

Ashe wanted this more than anything. For her, this whole situation seemed insane, but she didn't care. This was Basch, the man she loved before she had even known of Rasler. But confusion, fear, and stature had made it all impossible. Never had she been able to think straight with him around. Now, all she wanted was him and for a while, she forgot about her duty to Dalmasca and the mission. She forgot about Rasler. She would give herself to Basch for the first time. She would give him everything of herself.

Ashe held her breath. Her heart was racing and her blood was boiling inside of her. Her head was beginning to pound and faze with him beneath, she couldn't bare it.

"Ashelia…."

His fingers lovingly squeezed at her thighs to ease her shaking. She felt his own, his body moving uncontrollably with both urge and fear. Ashe placed her hands over his and smiled. She was treated with the same response from him. A smile so different from all those he had given her before.

Ashe closed her eyes and then slowly eased herself down.

The sensation of Basch forcing deep in her, invoked a startled cry along with a succession of panting excitable breaths. She grimaced, feeling him push and push, but the discomfort of such sizable penetration was short lived. When Ashe felt his fullness, her head fell back and she drank at the rain gushing in her gasping mouth. Her body pulsed with pure ecstasy, the feeling of him sent jolting spasms through her at every move she made. Her legs were shaking uncontrollably, yet when she finally opened her eyes and looked back down, the euphoria upon Basch's face made her soar.

She began to rock, slow and gentle, stifling her moans and feeling the slickness of the torrent of rain pelting down on them both. Basch gripped at her harder, assisting her to keep her down, pleasurable growls escaping from his clenched mouth. Such an intense sound from him, increased her drive and she began to quicken her thrusts.

Ashelia B'Nargin Dalmasca could no longer contain herself. There was no control, no restraint as her actions on top of her knight increased with such force, that she thrashed with all her might. Her hands tore Basch's hands up from her waist and forced them to roam her body. He ran them across her stomach, caressing her skin and smoothing away the mud, then they stroked upwards and lightly cupped at her breasts. His fingers felt the softness of them, gentle squeezes mixed in with his strokes and pinches. She felt his thumbs glide over her nipples, rubbing softly before exploring the sensations of the rest of her slick wet body.

Ashe tugged him up from his laying position and clasped her hands on to his head, pulling him close to her face.

"Basch…..!" She breathed desperately into his ear.

He could not respond, only gasp and groan as her hips pushed harder, forcing him to delve deeper within. Basch dropped his head on her shoulder, his arms clinging on around her back as he indulged in her fiery grinds against him. His labouring breaths couldn't be restrained, he couldn't contain his euphoria at the power and intensity of her. It had been so long since he had felt the pleasures of woman, but never did he believe it would be the princess, never in all his dreams did he think what they were doing now would be possible.

Her teeth suddenly bit hard and viciously on his earlobe and in response, he cried out and his groin jerked violently upwards, making Ashe scream a high pitched wail. Her head shot back and her whole frame convulsed from the deep agonizing jolt from this man. The adrenalin and lust was pumping so much Ashe became berserked, she wrapped her legs and arms around him and clung to Basch, using every muscle in her aching thighs to keep him close. The strength in her legs squeezed at his sides, trying to provoke him more, trying to take the pleasure beyond.

As Giza's storm still raged on, so too did the princess, relishing and desperately wanting more of this new pleasure. Her lips never faltered as she kissed over Basch, his mouth, face and neck. Her hands could not pause in their ravishing and clawing, but soon Ashe found herself in a wrestle, a fight to get Basch to respond back with equal aggression.

They rolled, the mud beneath them making them slide across the ground in a clumsy haphazard entanglement of limbs, but still Ashe screamed for Basch to fight back.

Such pent up fears and urges were finally being released; the joys of this berserked the young princess who keened highly at her grinds on top of Basch. There was a pain of having him inside her, for her body had kept tensing but when Ashe relaxed, the pleasures of him, made her scream with more elation.

Then things changed. Basch grabbed under her legs and flipped her over with one quick swift motion. Ashe slammed down to the ground and her breath was knocked from her lungs. A piercing cry gasped from her mouth as another jolt inside shoved hard.

For a moment there was nothing, just her heavy breaths, Basch's low blissful moans next to her ear as his head rested against her shoulder and the torrents of rain smattering endlessly over their bodies. It was just a moment as they lay entangled together, barely able to breathe or utter a word. Ashe shivered when she felt his wet beard and mouth nuzzling around her neck. It produced a smile on her lips at this tickling and when their lips finally locked together again, Ashe felt his hands slowly creeping up her thighs, before taking her arms once more above her head. Then she felt him move, a slow gentle motion with his hips, in time with his smattering kisses to her neck.

Such bliss of his beard moving over her skin forced a mewling whine from Ashe. She couldn't help it, for the tingling of his bristled chin and sensual lips as they moved over her breasts, intensified the pleasure.

He tasted her. He touched his lips against each breast, teasing with brief kisses before filling his mouth. He heard her gasp, he felt her hands grab at the back of his head to force him down even more, but Basch took his time. He savoured the feeling of such a soft sensation in his mouth, he relished at how the breast moved with the slow motions of his lips and how she tasted. It was so warm; his tongue felt the rain mud and Ashe's sweat and such an arousing sensation made Basch almost lose control himself. He didn't realise that he had bitten quite so hard against her nipple, but Ashe's scream and jolt caused his mouth to unlock from her bosom, but his groin to sharply shove forward.

It was almost like a convulsion the way Ashe's body reacted. Her arms lashed out and pounded against the watery sludge as her body arched upwards against him; her head shook, muddy wet hair smacking her in the face. Basch saw, just beneath the dirt that covered her face, a wild and pleasured smile.

So Basch hooked one of his arms underneath her curved back, stroking at her spine, whilst his other hand pushed her locks of hair out of her face. Her eyes were closed, as her head tilted back, exposing her neck, Basch once again pressed his mouth underneath her chin. She juddered when he groaned deeply against her and at his growling agonized voice, her legs stretched out, parted and open wide for him.

Basch quickened the pace.

The faster drives of him made Ashe's whole body literally shake and the force of Basch's body cuffing against her, heightened her ecstatic wails. The more she let loose screams of pleasure, the harder and quicker Basch ground against her.

The movement of her knight, the movement of the earth squelching around them and in between; so many sensations, so many building boiling surges were welling up inside Ashe. She couldn't hear her cries any more. The continual pounding of their flesh on flesh, the cracking thunder, running rain and Basch's tense loud growls and gasps by her ear, was all she could hear . The build up was getting too much.

Inside her, the pressure was surmounting.

The stimulation of Basch's rigorous insertions was getting too much; Ashe's body tensed up, her grip on Basch's back clenching harder as she was reaching her limits. How long had it been? How long had she endured this rippling pleasure? It wasn't enough, Ashe began to cry out in defiance, she screamed for a little more time.

_Not yet! Not yet! _

Her skin flushed with intense heat, she felt herself burning up and there was a rapid pulsing inside as everything began to contract and convulse. It couldn't stop, nor did she want it to. It felt so pleasurable and then when she thought that it could intensify no more, when she thought that Basch could not give her any more pleasure, it peaked and broke.

Ashe screamed Basch's name into the long tangled locks of his hair. How many times over, she had keened, she wasn't aware; but a gushing of warmth from between her legs made her release a scream more severe than any of the others. The orgasm rippled through her entire body, which twitched and jerked but even along with the euphoric pleasures of such a release, Basch hadn't stopped .

The princess' strength had gone, but even though she was tired, she urged Basch on, kissing him with more want to get him to his release. Her feet stroked up and down the back of his legs, her hands lingered over his bottom, squeezing and clenching with her fingers, all the while she whispered hopeful words in between their kisses.

She whispered all the words she had wanted to say to him two years ago.

She whispered that it was him she wanted to feel love her. She wanted him to keep making love to her. There was no one else.

There would be no one, but him.

"Basch!"

So used to this rhythm and his strong clinging embrace in the mud, she was able to detect the change. He was growing tired, his breaths became heavier and shorter and he couldn't maintain the pace.

Basch broke away from her kisses and she saw the grimace on his face, the scrunched up expressions before he bowed down and rested his head against her chest. His buttocks clenched tightly in her hands and his whole body went rigid. He began to shake.

He moaned loudly as if he was in great pain and Basch tried to move off her, but Ashe wouldn't let him. He was frantic, he fought against Ashe's gripping hold, he begged for her to let him go but it was too late. His moan erupted into a deafening roar and then Ashe was filled with a hard powerful shot of warmth inside her.

"Why…why did you let me…?"

Basch became limp, he collapsed on top of her, exhausted and worn, but though he was still reeling from the pleasures of his own climax, Ashe sensed his sadness and worry.

Both of them said nothing or mentioned Basch's fear. Instead they lay together, catching their panting breaths, entangled for a brief moment until they finally came apart, Basch extracting himself slowly from between her. He slipped off and rolled onto his back, closing his eyes as the rains washed over him. Ashe couldn't move, but she slid her hand through the mud and took hold of his. Their fingers clasped together tightly and Ashe angled her head to look at him but Basch was already gazing back at her. His eyes full of sadness.

"Why…?"

She wasn't going to answer him. Basch had wanted to stop, he hadn't wanted to release himself inside of her, but she had made it so. She had just experienced the most glorious and wonderful thing a hume adult could indulge in. The feeling of a man, his kiss and touch, the closeness and euphoria. She had finally experienced sex, with Basch. It was more than she ever imagined or fantasized of. The consequences weren't even an issue.

To her there was no one else in Ivalice except the two of them.

"Ashelia…you should not have…."

"No more talking."

Ashe turned over and slid up to Basch, wrapping her leg and arm over him. She leaned in close and kissed his lips, lingering it on. Pressing closer, she made the kiss more loving, sensual and gratifying. Basch accepted her, his arms snaked round her waist and his legs entwined with hers. He would allow this moment, for Basch craved for her contact.

Now wasn't the time to talk and ruin what had just happened by his fears.

_Just be with her. Your princess, your love. This may not happen again. _

He broke off the kiss and rested her head against him. They curled up tightly together, wanting nothing to disturb their precious time. Their precious contact.

The rain was coming down in torrents. The ground beneath their bodies was slick with gushing mud and the humidity was strong in the air despite the upending skies.

They were lost, cut off from the rest of the party and none of them knew where they were.

Right now, they didn't care.


	2. Epilogue

_Author's note: I had to do this little AUish ending. It's not graphic like the main story is, but I just wanted to write what happened afterwards. I guess I am a sucker for the nicer endings. _

_Please, enjoy. _

_**Epilogue**_

Ashelia had just finished clasping on her new leg armour when she heard the sound of knocking on the tent's wooden frame. She smiled, knowing who it was for no one else knocked so politely. This talk had to happen now, there was no avoiding it.

"Come in, Basch."

The fold of the tent door was lifted up and Basch ducked down and walked through. It was a struggle, for the Giza Nomads didn't really design their tents for someone as tall as him. Eventually, he straightened up and stood to attention. Far too formal for Ashe's liking, especially after what they had just experienced. But perhaps it is for the best.

"You are well, Majesty?" he asked, his eyes looking at the floor rather than at her. Ashe sighed, picking up her new coat and placing it over her shoulders.

"Yes, thank you. A little sore I guess but…."

Ashe's voice trailed off and the horrid silence between them lingered on. Basch stood rooted to the spot, but his lack of eye contact was slowly grating on the young woman's nerves.

"Do you regret what we did?" she asked after the silence lingered on for too long. Her question caused his head to jerk up and at last their eyes met. She saw not regret in his gaze, but there was sadness. Disappointment?

Ashe walked over to him, but she kept her hands by her side. If she touched him now, she would not be able to break away from him, but the temptation was overwhelming.

He had bathed, the mud was now gone and his new black armour accented his body so well. He was hair and body was slightly damp, no doubt the rains were still upending out side. However Ashe could smell the strong lush scent of the leather of his armour and it sent a pleasing quiver down her spine. She also noticed that he hadn't buckled up the chest plate properly, for it showed his flesh beneath, just a little. Ashe wanted to sneak her hand through the gap in the leather to touch him, but she knew that such an act would only make her want to kiss him again. She was determined for that not to happen. Not here, not now and not when the rest of the party were still asking questions as to what happened to them.

"I have no regrets, princess." Basch replied.

"But something worries you."

"Aye." Basch allowed himself to smile fondly. "Nothing about what we shared worries me, princess. Except…."

Ashe knew what he was referring to. During the journey back to the nomad village it had been plaguing her thoughts. She should have let him go but in the moment she couldn't. In her selfishness to keep him close, Ashe had increased the chances of some unwanted future expectancies, for they had worn no protection. Yet the prospect of such an occurrence was not the foremost in her mind. She had no time to be worried about herself when Dalmasca's fate still hung in the balance.

"Do not concern yourself." she said, turning away and heading over to where her back pack was nestling on a stool. She began to pack in more supplies, halting only briefly when she picked up a bottle of potion, remembering the last time she had used one and what exactly she had done with it.

"Princess…I do worry." Basch replied. He shifted nervously on his feet.

Ashe turned round, her face creased into a frown. She wasn't going to have him fussing over her. Not like this.

"Basch. We both know what really matters now. Dalmasca has to be our priority. I will not let Archadia make my people suffer and I will not let them keep a hold of my kingdom. Vayne will surely regret taking this action against my family."

"Dalmasca depends on you, princess. You will not fail them."

"Yes…well…" Ashe cleared her throat and began to tie up her back pack. "I almost did."

"It was not your fault."

Ashe couldn't help but chuckle at his words, for they implied so much more. She hitched her pack on to her shoulder and carried it over to the entrance. She let it slip off her and onto the floor, before she addressed her knight, keeping as composed as she could.

"You would have me blame you?" she asked, sternly. "Do you honestly wish for people to hate you?"

"If I hold the blame for the murder of your father and all the other crimes, then the people already hate me, Highness. What is more of their detest to me? If they knew I was alive, surely fornicating with their future Queen is also worthy of their loathing."

"You didn't force yourself upon me, Basch." Ashe said. "We both consented."

"But still, we…."

"Basch…right now, I consider the liberation of my country to be of the up most importance." she said, her voice strong with unwavering determination. "I need to reclaim my throne and I cannot do it alone. What happened between us has given me more confidence, more belief in myself, despite the many doubts I still have. You did that for me. Before, when I said all I knew was confusion around you? That is not so now. I know how you make me feel and I don't want that feeling to change. However, I do think that we should…restrain ourselves. No more distractions until we finish our mission. We cannot be intimate like that again…not yet."

"I understand."

"Good." Ashe straightened herself up and adjusted the long white collar of her coat. "You will help me Basch? You will be with me to restore not only my throne, but your name?"

"I would want to be nowhere else, majesty."

Ashe finally allowed the smile to drift across her face, his words lifting her own anxieties. Her hand reached out for him, for she did so desire to feel his touch and Basch too stepped closer and held up his own. They didn't think, the talk of restraint seemed forgotten as instinctively their fingers coiled round each others with a strong clench. Ashe squeezed hard at his gloved hand and in response his thumb lightly stroked over the back of hers.

Then Ashe let her head drop backwards, Basch's hand cupping it tenderly. Her heart was pumping furiously, her reasoning was shouting at her to pull away, but that look in his eyes froze her to the spot. The next thing was inevitable.

His mouth kissed at her bottom lip, lightly and gently before a tentative bite nipped at her skin. Her only reaction was to kiss him back, their mouths interlocking, her arms flinging round his neck and pulling him down to her level. They both kissed harder, desperately fondling their hands over each other, but when Basch's hand had crept up the hem of her skirt, they pulled away. The kiss ended just as suddenly as it had begun.

"Forgive me, majesty." Basch gasped turning to face the door way. "I didn't mean to…"

"Yes! You did!" Ashe grabbed hold of his arm and spun him round to make him look at her. She had snapped a little too angrily, but then she sighed and allowed a seductive smile to come across her lips. "I meant to as well."

"Our restraint did not last long. I will only be a distraction to you during the rest of this journey."

"Yes." Ashe stated matter of factly. "You will. We both will. But for everyone's sake, we cannot allow it. We should not be left alone, so it might be wise for you to….leave. Now."

Both of them smirked briefly. The thought was quite comical of the two of them being unable to resist each other, but the amusement of it soon wore off. This was no laughing matter.

Basch bowed low and then dropped down to a single knee. A Knight of the Order was expected to do such a thing, in both greeting a royal and dismissing themselves from their presence. It was a formal act that Ashe had seen him do so many times before, but now it seemed to her to be wrong. She didn't want him to be so formal.

But it was necessary.

"As you wish, princess." Basch kept his head bowed. "I shall take my leave of you."

He was about to rise from his kneeling position, but he didn't get far.

"Basch…wait."

"Majesty?"

"What we had, what happened between us." Ashe was struggling. An inner voice was screaming at herself to keep quiet, to stop behaving like a shy smitten teen, but despite the red flushing of her cheeks, Ashe kept her noble composure and tempered tone of voice "I..I enjoyed it. Very much."

"As did I, Majesty." Basch looked up, took hold of her hand and his lips gently kissed at her knuckles.

Ashe nearly collapsed down to her own knees in front of him, but for both of them there was a well timed interruption.

The flap of the tent door was shoved open and Penelo came running in. The excited young girl was startled at first to see the scene before her, but she brushed the drops of light rain from her face and came to an immediate halt. The hood of her coat flopped back revealing soddened wet blond braids which she began to tug shyly at.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to interrupt anything!" she said as Basch, in a very dignified manner, rose slowly back up to his feet. "It's just that, Balthier is wanting to make a move."

"We are on our way, Penelo." Ashe said, waving her hand dismissively to Basch. It was a signal for him, so he turned, picked up her bag, bowed courteously to both of the women and left the tent. Ashe inwardly breathed a sigh of relief, before addressing the young girl. "Everything is in order, I take it?"

"Yeah." Penelo rubbed at her cold nose. "The fastest Chocobos in the village are at our disposal."

"Then let us not keep the Leading man waiting any longer."

Ashe held out her hand towards the exit of the tent, but instead of leading the way, Penelo stood to the spot, wringing out her wet hair.

"Ashe…princess….?"

"Penelo?"

"Is everything all right with you and Basch now? You do believe him don't you? I mean about his brother and Basch not being a traitor and everything?"

All Ashe could do was nod her head. She didn't dare say anything for fear of letting slip even the smallest inkling of the truth about how she felt for him. Penelo seemed happy with that response and finally opened the tent flap and lead Ashe outside.

It was still raining, but it was only a light misty drizzle in the air. Ashe lifted up the white hood on her coat and stepped forward. Just in the clearing before her, Balthier and Fran were talking to the Nomad leader, whilst Vaan and Basch were preparing the Chocobos.

Nothing was really all right as the princess walked with Penelo up to the Elder of the Village. She paid her respects and gave thanks for their hospitality, but all she could hear was Basch's voice as he tried to tell Vaan how to saddle up the Chocobo properly.

This would be a difficult journey indeed.

But when she peered over her shoulder and saw Basch looking back at her, Ashe knew that it would be all worth it.

0000000000

_It's hard to believe a year has passed so quickly. _

_Rabanastre is finally back to the way it was, when my parents were still alive. We lost so much, but I think its important to put our past behind us and keep our eyes on the road ahead. _

_Ashe's coronation is next month. She's grown further and further away from us, we haven't seen her in months, but I guess that's how it has to be. She is Queen now after all. _

_I am looking forward to seeing you at the ceremony. _

_How is Basch? I know he went with you to Archades, "To further the cause of peace in Ivalice." But I hope he comes back to Rabanastre and to Ashe soon. She has to keep up appearances, so she would never say it but I think she misses him….. _

Ashe stood out on the balcony, peering over at the wrecked Bahamut as it towered above her city. The sight of it brought back such intense memories, however it wasn't Vayne's decaying ship that provoked the strongest feelings in her. Ashe slowly walked to the far end of her balcony and looked out over the city wall and the South gate. Beyond it and the Easter sand she could see in the distance the plains of Giza. The rain season should be starting soon, for the clouds were already beginning to darken and swell.

Giza.

Ashe could not forget the time she had spent there. Her head bowed and she closed her eyes recalling the moments, the first kiss from his lips, the touch of his hands on her body…more than anything she wished she could experience again what Basch had made her feel. Ashe had other duties now, responsibilities that she could not ignore, but her thoughts always turned to the man who had given her so much.

As her thoughts of Basch in Archadia filled her mind, Ashe lightly rubbed her hands over her swollen belly.

Her country, her throne…her child. He had given her everything.


End file.
